'One can, of course, only speculate as to how the large hoard of coins of relatively small value came to be buried in a place that, in the course of many centuries, has become a thoroughfare in a great and populous town.

At all events, he could hardly have foreseen that Mother Earth would have been so safea bank and that his money was kept in security, although earning no interest,until the year 1903, then no doubt, a very remote date in his view.'

Discovering Roman Croydon

We do not know the name of the workman who discovered the coins.But his discovery came to be known as 'the Wandle Hoard'.

Most of the coins are in the British Museum.Various Roman objects discovered around Croydon indicate that there was settlement here during Roman times.A Roman road linking London and Portslade went through Croydon.This was probably along the line of the present High Street.

Find out more

To find out more about
archaeological finds in Croydon,
including the Wandle Hoard,
visit our Research Room.

It is on the lower-ground floorand entry is FREE.
It is open at all times
when the museum is open.